Eating In Translation

Found art, featuring M&Ms

Subway-station entranceway
Elmhurst, Queens

Sidewalk helado vendor

Ask for helado (eh-Lah-doe) at a Queens restaurant, and ice cream (the literal translation) is likely what you'll receive. Heed the summons of a Queens sidewalk vendor, and you can peruse her portable cooler to pick from several flavors of homemade ice pop.

I [Iguana] EC

Seen in passing. I didn't inquire whether this campaign, at an Ecuadorian-owned agency, promotes a traditional or a gastronomic travel package.

I [Iguana] EC
Elmhurst, Queens

"Most-repaired...food-truck seat...ever"

Between shifts, Elmhurst, Queens

Songkran festival

Elmhurst, in April, is not as dependably warm as Thailand.

Ayada

Too often it's too sweet.

Ploy Thai

The presentation is modest. The spice doesn't speak up immediately, either.

Roosevelt Supermarket

Versions prepared from concentrate haven't thrilled me in the past, and with the bar set low, this ready-to-drink La Feria brand horchata (or-Chot-uh; 16 fl. oz., $1) wasn't terribly disappointing. There's no comparison, of course, with horchata made from scratch, though there's also no doubt that my tastebuds can be swayed by the setting.

Roosevelt Supermarket
97-02 Roosevelt Ave. (at 97th St.), Corona, Queens
718-779-8246

Lunch break haiku

Food-truck meat lasag
na might tempt me, but in swea
ter weather, not now.

Lunch break haiku
Elmhurst, Queens

Bethel Church of Indonesia bazaar

Winner by a nose.

Bromo Satay House

(This venue is closed.) If these had been fried spring rolls, I would have been well pleased.

Cream-cone vendor

Isn't it too cold, I asked from underneath my parka, as the proprietress served a customer nearly as bundled up as I was.

Mini Picanteria El Guayaquileno

Peanut sauce was a revelation.

Tardes Calenas

Beach volleyball on the TV, too.

Kennedy Fried Chicken & Pizza

(This venue is closed.) They're covering all bases — or, at least, all available space in the window.

Popeye-decorated food truck

The current bill of fare, almost exclusively Mexican, didn't entice me for more than a photo. Popeye seems to have signed on when this truck went by the name Home Cook'n; if spinach was ever on the menu, it's gone now. Previously: port of call, Phnom Penh.

Popeye-decorated food truck
Seen on Junction Blvd. near 42nd Ave., Elmhurst, Queens

Former luncheonette

Someone's getting fed, but it's not you.

Tia Julia

Like many Mexican street-food vendors, Tia Julia does serve tacos, but on your first visit to the truck you may pore over the hand-lettered menu before noticing the small selection.

Sugar Club

This narrow storefront also rents Thai videos, but the featured attraction is the spread of snacks at the counter and on the facing shelves.

Royal Kathin celebration

At the end of Thailand's rainy season — in New York and other less tropical climes, figure on mid-autumn — lay Buddhists pay their respects on the monks at the local temple.